Centre for Person-centred Practice Research

The Centre has an interdisciplinary research and development focus that is leading edge. We have a focus on doing research that ‘humanises healthcare’ by keeping the person at the centre of care, as well as promoting new methodologies for person-centred research and that influence international developments in this field. Ultimately, our research work aims to enhance people’s experiences of care and wellbeing, making a difference to people’s lives locally, nationally and internationally.

Our aims are to:

• Establish a programme of interdisciplinary person-centred research- that is creative, innovative, and rigorous, and generates new knowledge to humanise health and social care
• Make a significant contribution to the development of Person-Centred methodology for undertaking person- centred research
• Support early carrier academics and scholars who are committed to person centredness and person centred Research
• Contribute to local, national, and international communities who are committed to person-centredness and person-centred research
• Have local, national, international impact on the way that health and social care services are delivered, experienced and evaluated

We continuously seek to develop a wide range of collaborations and warmly welcome approaches from individuals and groups who would like to find out more about our research and see potential in us working together.

Our current research activates are around 3 core themes. Central to these is ensuring that our research impacts on the way health and social care services are delivered and in particular, on the lives of those delivering and receiving care with the aim of enhancing their wellbeing.

• Interventions/Model of Care in health and social care and practice to enhance person-centeredness and wellbeing
• Person Centred Culture, Leadership and Education
• Use of Creative Arts within health and social care to improve person-centredness and wellbeing

Capacity and capability building for the longer term within our research field is an important focus for our work as we continue to nurture academics and scholars who are committed to person-centredness and person-centred research and who themselves will have global impact. As part of this we have two related, thriving communities: The International Community of Practice (ICoP) and the Doctoral Student ICoP (SICoP) all connected through at least one of the four pillars of person-centredness.

Multiple aspects of our research and scholarship are drawn on and implemented in different services, healthcare organisations and universities around the world. Our impact plan captures a range of evidence across different international contexts to show the longer-term effects of our research and scholarship.

We are highly committed to knowledge exchange and Centre members are at the forefront of developments in this field in healthcare through models of ‘implementation science’. We are continuing to build on this expertise and formalise it wherever possible through KTPs and other sources of partnership funding.

We expect our impact to feature in improved care/learning and work environments, more effective team working, enhanced patient experience and in workplace cultural advances, as well as the creation and application of government and other stakeholder policy.

The International Community of Practice for person-centred practice (PcP-ICoP) is an international community of collaborating organisations (full members) and individuals (associate members)  committed to the advancement of greater understanding of person-centredness and its advancement in clinical practice, research, education/learning, facilitation, management, policy and strategy. The PcP-ICoP is hosted by Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh with partners currently coming from Ulster University, Northern Ireland; The Health Service Executive, Republic of Ireland; Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands; University of South-Eastern Norway; The Centre for Care Research at Bergen University College, Norway; The University of Vienna, Austria; Solothurner Spitäler AG, Switzerlandand Wollongong University, Australia.  The PcP-ICoP co-ordinates a programme of research and scholarship, and supports collaborative publications and presentations as well as a thriving community of practice for doctoral candidates who are studying aspects of person-centredness (the SICoP). Each of the partner organisations is engaged in teaching/learning, research and scholarship activities connected to person-centred practice.

The PCP-ICoP exists to:

• Contribute to advancing expertise in person-centred practice research and practice development
• Enhance expertise in doctoral research into person-centredness and related areas
• Publish papers that advance knowledge in person-centred practice
• Collaborate on research grants that contribute towards advancing knowledge in person-centred practice
• Create a community of scholars across partner organisations.

The Centre for Person-centred Practice Research (CPcPR) has a focus on research that enhances service users (patients, residents, clients, learners) experiences of care and learning across a variety of care settings. We offer an excellent learning culture for those interested in research that makes a difference to the lives of people who experience health and social care services, as well as those who provide these services. Researchers in the CPcRC have extensive expertise in a variety of methodologies that are participatory, collaborative and inclusive in nature and enable real change to happen in practice.  

We welcome applications for research that intends to contribute to the field of person-centred practice or its research and draws on participatory and/or creative research principles.

Initial enquiries can be made to the Centre Director, Professor Erna Haraldsdottir, or to individual members of the Centre who are engaged in the relevant area of research.

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Postgraduate Taught Study